Court refuses to stop Gombe poll tomorrow

A Gombe State High Court has thrown out the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) suit against the Gombe State Independent Electoral Commission (GOSIEC) seeking an interlocutory injunction against the conduct of tomorrow’s local government election in the state.

It, however, adjourned till February 27, hearing in the substantive case seeking to quash the N500,000, N250,000 and N150,000 fees imposed by the electoral body on the contestants.

Justice Abdulhameed Mohammed Yakub said since the suit was filed too late, interlocutory injunctions could not be granted.

He said the CPC waited for 22 days from the day they were issued the electoral guidelines before filing the case, which was to take place 15 days later.

Yakub said the process was convenient for other parties and the public whose collective interest far outweighed the applicant’s.

The judge held that N200,000 had been set aside for the conduct of the election and preparations had gone too far at the time the plaintiff filed its case.

He said leaving the Caretaker Committee to continue in office is an illegality and that “restraining the conduct of the poll amounts to favouring illegality at the expense of legality.”

He declared the suit null and void, but said the substantive case challenging the legality and otherwise of the amount charged by GOSIEC as contest fee would continue.

After the ruling, counsel to the defendants, Musa Saidu, expressed satisfaction on the ruling and said the House of Assembly allowed GOSIEC the leeway to operate within the confines of the law and that there is no argument about what the law says.

Adamu Kuna, who stood for the CPC, said the court had the power to repeal any law tantamount to “a bad policy.”